LOVE
by justanoutlaw
Summary: Killian is enjoying a quiet afternoon when his daughter storms in after a fight with her girlfriend.


**KnightRook with hints of Curious Archer and some callbacks to Millian. **

**I wrote this during S7, before the curse broke so this is a canon divergence.**

Killian's silence was suddenly interrupted by fast footsteps up the porch. He settled down his book when he heard Robin's voice.

"What did I say?"

"You know what you said!" Alice thundered back.

"Is it that big a deal?"

"Yes, yes it is!"

"Well, do you not feel the same way?"

"That is irrelevant! I just…I can't believe you would say it!"

"Fine, then I take it back!"

"You take it back?"

"Well, not really, but I'll say anything to make you stop being so mad."

"Just go home! I can't be around you right now!"

Alice burst through the door, slamming it shut behind her and stomping off towards the stairs.

"Love," Killian called out.

"Leave me alone!"

A moment later, the door slammed so hard, he wondered if it would fall off the hinges. He quickly walked up there and opened it. Alice was curled up on her bed, glaring at the wall.

"Al," he whispered. "What's wrong?"

"I said leave me alone!"

"And I know better than to do that." He walked over, sitting next to her.

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"Alright." He knew better than to push, she would open up in her own time. Instead he just sat there, stroking her dark blonde waves.

"We had a fight," she finally said after 10 minutes.

"I could tell. She said something to upset you?"

"She told me that she loved me."

Killian drew a deep breath. He had a feeling this was coming eventually. He hadn't been able to be there for all of their romance in the Enchanted Forest, due to their poisoned hearts. He had lost out on so much time with her and now they were at the point of love.

"And this upsets you?"

"I just…" Alice sighed, sitting up and drawing her knees to her chest. "I think I love her too."

"Then why did you get so mad?"

"Because we are young and I just…I'm scared!"

"Scared?" Killian raised an eyebrow.

"True love is messy. I mean, look at what it leads to!"

"I don't understand how it can be such a bad thing. Look at Henry and Ella."

Alice rolled her eyes. "Yeah. They found happily ever after, eventually. They had to literally go to hell and back first. I don't want that. I don't want to have to go under a sleeping curse or any curse really. If I've learned anything from stories, it's that true love is hard. Everyone wants a fairytale, well newsflash fairytales suck. People get poisoned and die."

He couldn't help but smile. His daughter had never been like most girls. She didn't like how most fairytales ended growing up in the tower. At first he wondered if it was because they all got away, but in time, he knew it was because there were no stories of a girl getting away with a princess. Not only that, Alice was different. She wasn't exactly cynical, she just had different ideas.

"Well, have you been tied up in a net?" She gave him a look that basically said "What the hell". "That's the beginning of how Ella realized that she loved Henry."

Alice rolled her eyes. "You're turning this into a joke."

"I'm trying to lighten the mood," he told her. "Look, yes, love is messy. Fairytales aren't what they appear to be in the books, but neither is life. Life is supposed to be hard, love isn't supposed to be easy. And that's okay. Does it suck to go through all the bad times, totally."

He placed a hand on her cheek and she gave him a little smile.

"If you think that you love Robin, you should tell her. We all think we have all the time in the world to say what we need to say, but the truth is, tomorrow isn't promised."

Alice nodded, frowning a bit. "Like you and Milah?"

"Yes. I told her that I loved her, but sometimes I wish I had said more."

"Do you regret falling in love with her? I mean, she died in the end."

Killian thought about it for a minute. "No. I regret that we didn't have more time together, but that is life. Yes, her death hurt, but it only hurt because the love was there in the first place. And as a result, I was afraid to love again, but as I said, it was worth it."

There was silence for a minute, as Alice gnawed on her bottom lip, clearly deep in thought.

"So, do you love her?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Tell her."

"I doubt she's ever going to talk to me again."

"I wouldn't be so sure. If she really loves you, she'll understand."

He looked out the window and saw Robin standing by her car.

"Yeah, little love, I think she still loves you."

Alice got up and looked, a smile going across her face. She turned to her dad and hugged him tightly. He hugged her tighter, kissing the top of her head.

"Thanks Daddy," she whispered.

"Anytime, little love. Now, go make up."

He watched his daughter leave the room before returning his attention to the window. Alice was outside a minute later, walking over to Robin. The two talked pensively for a few minutes and even he was feeling a little anxious for his daughter. However, Robin eventually wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's waist, pulling her closer. A moment later, the two were kissing. He closed the blinds and headed back down to his book. His daughter was happy, she was in love. And he knew from experience how sweet a makeup could be after a fight.

It had been centuries since he lost Milah and he had hardly stayed single during that time, but he didn't ever love again, not in that type of way. His happy ending was starting to fall into place. He had his daughter back and she was happy. Maybe it was time for him to put himself out there, to find himself another love.

It's what Milah would've wanted.


End file.
